Frequently Asked Questions
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General FAQs
What is myfood24?
myfood24 is a validated online food diary system, created to analyse nutritional intake. It was initially created for use in large epidemiological studies, but now offers versions for both healthcare and teaching.
Who can use myfood24?
myfood24 is intended for use by healthcare professionals to support patients with diet-related disease, along with researchers and their study participants, plus teaching professionals and their students.
If you are a healthcare professional, researcher or teacher wishing to use myfood24, you can purchase a licence by contacting us here where a member of our team will be happy to assist you.
What is the difference between myfood24 Healthcare, Research and Teaching?
myfood24 Healthcare
myfood24 Healthcare supports patients and healthcare professionals in monitoring nutritional intake. Healthcare professionals can set goals for the patient and in return, provide visual feedback in the form of graphs. The myfood24 diary can also be completed by another user, e.g. a patient’s carer or family member.
myfood24 Healthcare also has the ability to track activity and monitor weight and BMI, making it a comprehensive wellness hub to help cultivate a healthy lifestyle. To find out more, click here.
myfood24 Research
myfood24 Research is a powerful tool for academics and postgraduate researchers undertaking research in nutrition. Full nutritional intake from all participants of a project are available to download to Excel upon project completion. Project settings can be configured by the administrator (researcher) to allow participants to log the time foods have been consumed, record whether nutritional supplements are being consumed, and see a calorie summary upon diary submission.
To find out more about myfood24 Research, click here.
myfood24 Teaching
myfood24 Teaching is a learning tool for lecturers and teaching professionals. Teachers are able to monitor the diary entries of their students and have access to the data of the whole class, presented in graph format. Students can complete multiple diaries for different days within the same teaching project. myfood24 Teaching also allows the students to access graphs, summarising their own nutritional content.
Can I add a recipe to myfood24?
Yes you can. myfood24 has a recipe builder which allows you to enter the raw ingredients as stated in the recipe. It will calculate the size of an individual portion based on the number of servings you enter. The nutritional information provided will take into consideration weight and nutrient changes, due to cooking. Recipes can be saved to your myfood24 account, so you can quickly access them in the future.
What languages is myfood24 available in?
myfood is available in the following languages:
- English
- French
- German
- Danish
- Spanish
- Arabic
- Norwegian
We are always looking to expand the number of languages available; please do get in touch if you have any questions, or would like to work with us.
Can I try a free demo of myfood24?
Yes!
To try a free demo, please use the free demo link.
Please note this is not the full solution and only provides feedback on the 8 ‘back of pack’ nutrients. The full solution provides feedback on 100+ nutrient attributes. The free demo is suitable for researchers and teachers/lecturers; Our healthcare version can be viewed here, along with a demonstration of the web portal. Alternatively you can email us by clicking here to find out more.
What format will the nutritional data be in?
myfood24 automatically analyses the nutritional information for each food diary submitted. This information can be exported as two CSV files, one is a summary of each diary with back of pack nutrients and the second is a breakdown of each food item with over 100 nutrients. If you would like to see an example of the CSV nutrient outputs, please get in touch to request this.
Our teaching version also displays the nutritional information in a number of vibrant graphs and charts to help convey this information in an engaging manner.
Can end-users see a summary of their nutritional intake?
Yes.
After a diary has been submitted, end-users can see a summary of their nutritional intake for the 8 back of pack nutrients against reference intakes.
However, if you do not wish for your end-users to receive information on their nutritional intake, this can be switched off and is configurable in your project settings.
What are biomarkers?
A nutrient biomarker is a characteristic that can be measured in biological samples and used as an indicator of nutritional status – the intake and metabolism of dietary components. Urinary and plasma biomarkers were utilised in the development of myfood24. Biomarkers are the ‘gold standard’ reference measure.
Completing a Food Diary
What can I do if I can’t find the food or drink item I am looking for?
To reduce the number of food items brought up from a search, you can use the filter tabs to select a specific category or brand. If you are still unable to find a food item, you can substitute it with the ‘generic’ version or the most similar food item you can find.
What do I do if I have put my food item in the wrong section?
A food item can easily be moved to another section by simply clicking on the item tile and dragging it to the correct section. Food items can also be deleted and edited from their tile.
How long does it take to fill out a food diary?
The diary should take approximately 10 – 15 minutes to complete a whole days’ worth of food. The completion of the diary should become quicker after your first few uses.
Can I add items through barcode scanning?
Yes.
You can scan barcodes on packaging to add food or drink items to the diary, in addition to typing in a search term. If there is not an exact match for the barcode, you will be shown a list of alternative food items, or you can go back to the search box. Barcode scanning is currently only available in our healthcare mobile app, which is invitation only by a healthcare professional.
Will my food entries be saved automatically?
Yes.
Your food entries are saved automatically when added to the diary. However your healthcare professional or project leader may have configured the diary settings to erase entries if you have not submitted your diary after 24 hours. If you are unsure of how this will affect you, please contact your healthcare professional, researcher or teacher directly.
Can I change my diary after I have submitted it?
No. Your diary cannot be changed after submission.
How many recipes can I save?
There is no limit to the number of recipes you can save.
myfood24 for Healthcare Professionals
How do I register a patient to use the app?
Firstly, invite your patients to register for myfood24 through the dedicated web-portal. After their registration, they can download the myfood24 mobile app, where they can start logging their dietary habits. With this user-friendly application available to them, they can begin logging their dietary habits.
Can I set meal plans for my patients?
Yes, setting meal plans for your patients is a pivotal feature with the myfood24 app. You can design a structured meal plan tailored to each patient’s specific nutritional needs, goals, and preferences. By doing so, you not only offer them a clear guideline on what to eat but also help them understand the balance of nutrients they should be aiming for. These meal plans can often be adjusted based on caloric needs, dietary restrictions, or even specific health conditions.
How do I know if they are sticking to my recommendations?
Adherence to dietary recommendations is monitored through several features:
- Log analysis – when patients consistently log their meals, you can analyse the foods and quantities consumed to determine if they align with your recommendations.
- Nutrient breakdown – The app provides a detailed breakdown of macro and micronutrients; by reviewing these breakdowns, you can check if the patient’s intake matches your prescribed nutritional goals.
- Progress reports – reports provide you with a snapshot of how well your patient is sticking to the advised diet.
Using myfood24 as a Patient
How do I use myfood24 healthcare as a patient?
To use the myfood24 Healthcare app, you need to be invited by a healthcare professional. When your healthcare professional has added you to myfood24, you will receive an email from hello@myfood24.org to complete your registration.
Click the ‘Complete registration’ button in the email to confirm your email address and create a password. Once you have submitted a password, your registration is complete and you can download the android version of the app from the Play Store or the iPhone version from the Apple App Store.
How do I login to the myfood24 healthcare patient app?
Login using the email address and password you used to register, then you can start recording your intake. There is a link for how to use myfood24 Healthcare in the registration email and there is help text in the Settings section of the app.
If you have any queries please contact us by clicking here.
Technology and Security
What devices can I use myfood24 on?
myfood24 is an online application, meaning it requires internet access to work. myfood24 can be accessed via a computer, laptop or tablet, although we recommend using a computer or laptop if you are setting up projects.
Is myfood24 compatible with my browser?
myfood24 is compatible with most browsers and has been tested on the following: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Safari. If you are experiencing problems using myfood24 on a web browser, please try using a different one. If problems persist, please get in touch and let us know the web browser you are using and provide screenshots of the issue wherever possible.
Is my data secure with myfood24?
We take data security seriously, from the company’s core values, the design of myfood24 through to staff training and procedures.
We use Amazon Web Services, a third-party server to host myfood24, the privacy policy of which is available to view at: https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/. Our servers are located in Dublin, Ireland.
We comply with the General Data Protection Regulation. For more details on how we collect, process and store your data, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
What accreditations do you have?
We have the following certifications and accreditations:
- ISO27001
- Cyber Essentials
- Cyber Essentials Plus
- NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit
- DCB0129
- DTAC ready
- ORCHA: web, iOS and Android
Our Databases
How many food items are available on myfood24?
There are over 120,000 food items currently available in the UK myfood24 dataset. We are continually working hard to expand the dataset to reflect the wide range of food and drink items available. At present, we have over 200,000 food items worldwide.
What databases are available on myfood24?
Currently myfood24 has the following databases:
- McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of foods integrated dataset 6th and 7th (2021) edition
- Commercial dataset of UK branded items including supermarkets, fast food outlets, coffee shops, restaurant chains and specialised stores
- AUSNUT 2011-13 – Australia
- Specialised sip and tube feeds and food and drinks for medical purposes
- Dietary supplements
- Asian dishes including popular foods from Bangladesh, India, and Thailand
- Baby and infant foods – UK
- Baby and infant foods – New Zealand
- Baby and infant foods – Singapore
- Caribbean database, adapted from the USDA
- German Nutrient Database BLS – Germany v3.02 (generic)
- German LEBTAB (branded)
- Denmark Frida Fooddata v2 (generic)
- Danish infant foods
- French Food Composition Database CIQUAL 2017 and 2020 (generic)
- French branded 2017 and 2020
- French regional recipes
- Middle Eastern database
- Norwegian Food Composition Table 2018 (generic)
- Peruvian National Food Composition Tables (generic)
- Swiss Food Composition Tables v6.4 2022 (generic)
- Ugandan database
- United States of America USDA Database 2021 (generic)
- West African Food Composition Tables (2019) (generic + branded)
- West African traditional recipes
Can I use more than 1 database?
Yes.
It is recommended that for the UK both McCance & Widdowson Composition of Foods plus branded items are selected.
Will more databases be added to myfood24?
We are always keen to continue adding databases to myfood24. If there is a specific database you wish to use or would like to collaborate on creating a specialised database, please do get in touch by contacting us.
Can I add my own items to the myfood24 database?
Due to the extensive mapping process and quality checks the myfood24 dataset goes through before new food and drink items appear on the database, food and drink items can only be added by the myfood24 team.
There is however a comments box at the end of each diary submission which can be used by users to mention any particular food or drink items they were unable to find.
If there are specific food items you would like to be added to the myfood24 dataset, you can request these by using our contact form.
Have you made any improvements to the McCance and Widdowson 7 databases?
A number of missing values (N and blank values) in the McCance and Widdowson 7 (Generic) database have been ‘over-stamped’ with an equivalent value from a similar product. In addition, as our MW7 Branded database products have been mapped to MW7 generic items for a more complete nutrient profile, some of these ‘over-stamped’ values will apply to this database as well. This is to provide the best and most complete databases possible for our customers.
For more information, please send us an email by clicking here.
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